Indiana vs. Minnesota: Twitter Reaction, Postgame Recap and Analysis

The Indiana Hoosiers have their good days and their bad days. On Saturday, we saw both—one in the first half and one in the second—in an 88-81 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

No. 5 Indiana took it to visiting No. 8 Minnesota in the first half, as a battle of Big Ten juggernauts turned into a one-sided affair by halftime at Assembly Hall.

Indiana (15-1, 3-0 Big Ten) jumped out to a 52-29 halftime lead, using a balanced effort and a big transition game to make Minnesota uncomfortable on defense. Victor Oladipo was an efficient 6-of-6 from the floor in the first half, and Yogi Ferrell also had a nice first half with his speed and quickness, distributing to playmakers and avoiding turnovers.

The Golden Gophers did come out firing in the second half, cutting the 23-point deficit as close as three with 18 ticks to play. But the Hoosiers escaped on Saturday and managed to keep Minnesota at bay until the final buzzer with free-throw shooting and a timely stop.

All five of the Indiana starters were in double figures midway through the second half—a hallmark of the program since its return to dominance. Minnesota's five starters also all finished in double figures. Oladipo led the way for Indiana with 20 points and three steals, while Jordan Hulls had 19 points, and Cody Zeller added 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

Christian Watford finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Hoosiers, while Yogi Ferrell added 13 points and eight assists. Indiana's bench had three—count 'em—points on the night, which is a major concern for the coaching staff going forward.

Minnesota guard Andre Hollins was the star for head coach Tubby Smith, keeping the Gophers in the game while the rest of the starting unit struggled. He finished with 25 points on 8-of-20 shooting, leading the way for his team. Austin Hollins added 13 points, and Trevor Mbakwe had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Both teams struggled with turnovers, particularly Indiana down the stretch. Hollins had a chance to make it a two-point game with free throws and then again with a late three, but his efforts were in vain, and Indiana escaped at home.

It was a tale of two halves for both teams. There are a lot of positives and negatives for each to draw on as they get back to preparing for the rest of conference play.

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Twitter Reaction

Announcers are one of the best parts about college basketball, and the Big Ten Network made sure to send a colorful guy for this one—Fox Sports football's Gus Johnson. Joe Reedy had the tweet:

This is certainly a rough loss for Minnesota after a good start to the season, but there's no time to dwell on what could have been. No. 2 Michigan is coming to town next Thursday, so Minnesota needs to rebound quickly with four days to prepare.

For Indiana, the schedule lightens up a little bit until facing Michigan State on Jan. 27. We've seen that the starters can score for the Hoosiers, but Tom Crean needs more production from his bench going forward to make a serious run late in the season.

One injury could certainly cripple the Hoosiers' title chances, as could poor execution—something Crean will stress as the team watches film tomorrow. Indiana improves to 4-0 in conference play and takes care of business yet again.

Love 'em or hate 'em, Indiana is a good basketball team. The Hoosiers look poised to be a force in the Big Ten, and we'll look forward to their Feb. 2 home game against Michigan in the interim.